Scrambles Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Hey Folks, We have a suite of iMac's in music that are up for replacement over the summer. At present the only reason we are holding onto them is for Garage Band. What are the viable Windows options to Garage Band with favorable education pricing these days ? My thinking is that I can get some new computers with some preamps OR I can buy some new Mac's for students to use.
witch Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 According to our old music teacher - there isnt an alternative - hence why we spent loads on a new Mac for him
ICTDirect_Dave Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 There's nothing quite as 'click and play' as Garageband. But it's mostly a terrible piece of software when compared to a proper DAW. Ableton Live is my preferred audio software on PC or Mac. It's not free, licenses will set you back a fair whack, but it'll run beautifully on Windows and plays really nicely with the Focusrite Scarlett USB interfaces. I've got some lovely HP Z220's at the moment that would make ideal music workstations (i7, 16GB RAM, 240GB SSD - £225), something like that coupled with a Scarlett 2i2 and Ableton Live would be an awesome music workstation! 1
bald_pig Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Cubase would be my go-to, don't know what the current pricing is like though. The problem you'll find is that the teachers know Garage Band and usually aren't willing to learn anything else!
mikkydoos Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Probably a daft suggestion but.... There's always Garageband on an Ipad. Might be cheaper. Similar-ish app and there's plenty of DAC/interfaces for them.
timbo343 Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 (edited) Try MixCraft. Our music dept say that MC is the closest alternative to GarageBand. Edited February 10, 2020 by timbo343
3s-gtech Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 There's nothing quite as 'click and play' as Garageband. But it's mostly a terrible piece of software when compared to a proper DAW. Ableton Live is my preferred audio software on PC or Mac. It's not free, licenses will set you back a fair whack, but it'll run beautifully on Windows and plays really nicely with the Focusrite Scarlett USB interfaces. I've got some lovely HP Z220's at the moment that would make ideal music workstations (i7, 16GB RAM, 240GB SSD - £225), something like that coupled with a Scarlett 2i2 and Ableton Live would be an awesome music workstation! What’s Ableton’s loop and sample library like Dave? One of the best bits of GB is the huge library, which can then be expanded further with Logic.
ICTDirect_Dave Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 It'll have some in the default installation, but you can source thousands of free to download and free to use samples, loops and instruments.
dhicks Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 What are the viable Windows options to Garage Band with favorable education pricing these days? Depending on what, exactly, your pupils are aiming to do, Soundtrap might be suitible. Actually web-based, so should work on Windows / Mac / ChromeOS, and pupils can log in and use from home. Soundtrap had a large stand at BETT this year, I get the impression they're aiming for the education market.
Brimstone Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 There's nothing quite as 'click and play' as Garageband. But it's mostly a terrible piece of software when compared to a proper DAW. Ableton Live is my preferred audio software on PC or Mac. It's not free, licenses will set you back a fair whack, but it'll run beautifully on Windows and plays really nicely with the Focusrite Scarlett USB interfaces. I've got some lovely HP Z220's at the moment that would make ideal music workstations (i7, 16GB RAM, 240GB SSD - £225), something like that coupled with a Scarlett 2i2 and Ableton Live would be an awesome music workstation! Don't denegrate software you don't know anything about please... I could quote you a huge list of Grammy award winning songs that were orginally created using Garageband....
bald_pig Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Don't denegrate software you don't know anything about please... I could quote you a huge list of Grammy award winning songs that were orginally created using Garageband.... There are award winning films shot on gopro's, doesn't mean they are a good professional video camera... 3
3s-gtech Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 It's very basic for things like time signatures etc. It's user friendly, stable and fairly flexible, but it is not a proper DAW (which is why Logic Pro exists, surely?) A Grammy can be won with a very, very basic backing track. 1
DJ-1701 Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Don't denegrate software you don't know anything about please... That's jumping to a conclusion, some how I don't think you know Dave. I could quote you a huge list of Grammy award winning songs that were orginally created using Garageband.... Playing Devils Advocate... a group of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals presenting awards so... one could assume they are just patting themselves and friends on the back. Though seriously I think talent out ways tools, but it is so very easy when you have the right tool for you. 2
bald_pig Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Don't denegrate software you don't know anything about please... I could quote you a huge list of Grammy award winning songs that were orginally created using Garageband.... Also, if you plan to denigrate someone you don't know anything about, spelling matters 1
jinnantonnixx Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 I use Tracktion Waveform 10 for my music production. Tracktion company always release their older version for free. Obviously doesn't have the features of the new flagship software, but very good and 100% free. https://www.tracktion.com/products/t7-daw
Popular Post ICTDirect_Dave Posted February 10, 2020 Popular Post Posted February 10, 2020 Don't denegrate software you don't know anything about please... I could quote you a huge list of Grammy award winning songs that were orginally created using Garageband.... I've no doubt that it's possible to put something together using garageband that sounds good, and there are several artists who have used it efficiently for backing tracks and samples. But it is not a proper DAW. It is limited, in no way the industry mainstay and when compared to the likes of Logic, Cubase, Ableton, & Pro Tools it falls short in functionality, quality and control right across the board. It's a great piece of free software (although you pay the Apple tax in that you have to fork out for their hardware to use it). But it's not the best tool for the job, and if we're setting kids up to go out and be creative, surely we should give them the best tools so they can do well if and when they decide to study something musical at university? At this point I should state that my degree was in Music Technology, and before I worked for ICT Direct I was both a live sound and recording sound engineer. I have used many different software DAWs to record and produce music over the years and the list of bands I've worked with both live and in the studio is quite extensive. 1 9
mikkydoos Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 Gotta say all.... +1 for Garageband being sh*te. It just is. All the cr@p DAW interfaces are why I've got one of these... makes those 'orrible screens a bit less 'orrible. 1
fredesq Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 The music teacher here suggested Soundtrap, Mixcraft and Albeton if the finances allow.
Dos_Box Posted February 10, 2020 Posted February 10, 2020 My brother who does a lot of audio work swears by Reaper - https://www.reaper.fm/ It'S $60 per licence, but I'd be cheeky and see if they do a bulk discount. And they have just launched Version 6 + I think you get free upgrades! 1
LukeRowberry Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 I think the discussion on Garageband is over after Dave's last post anyway.
Koldov Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) Not necessarily... I guess really we should be asking what they will be using it for...? Is it for a music course leading to qualification/employment or is it just 'music' lessons? What age are the students and what type of masterpieces will they be producing? Is it an epic movie soundtrack, a lush multi-track symphony, complex Jazz tunes with weird time signature changes, are they plugging in various instruments to record... or are they dragging and dropping some loops to create some rubbish mindless pop/rap/edm? I've been using Garage Band for a few years, but only as a home recording tool (I haven't even scratched the surface of what it is actually capable of as I haven't needed to), but I found it very easy just to get on and record, like most things Apple it is fairly intuitive. In contrast I have managed to get a copy of Reason (for Windows) and it seems a fairly big leap in terms of DAWs (possibly because Garage Band needs all the extra settings eased out of it and in other big DAWs they are mostly all there right in your face - so many button and dials)! So in those terms they obviously don't compare - it is not an 'industry standard' DAW as has been pointed out. The only problem is, I took days just to work out how to do simple things. Something to take into consideration is what comes in the basic package of the alternatives? Will they be purchasing/using lots of extra plug-ins/loops/instrument libraries? Maybe that's also something you will have to figure in to your calculations (ease of use - both by teaching staff and students alike). I couldn't even imagine the chaos here, if I changed a major piece of teaching software... Edited February 11, 2020 by Koldov
Andycat Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 We're looking at this at the moment, we have 8yr old macbooks and looking to move to laptops as we're keeping a Mac infrastructure running just for these, and network saving etc has been troublesome! The only thing is replacing Garageband (Sibelius is great on PC), and the Head of Music isn't really buying in, with his only suggestion so far being ProTools, which on 30 laptops isn't cost friendly!
mikkydoos Posted February 11, 2020 Posted February 11, 2020 Just to help the OP, There are loads of software alternatives (if that's what the music teacher could use). All the above plus Magix Music Maker Acid Pro is pretty good still As far as interfaces go the Focusrite units are quite nice but you could easily get away with cheaper Behringer or Alesis stuff. Just had a look at the price of Mac Minis nowadays ...... Shseeeesh!!
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